Gov. McDonnell Noncommittal on Attorney General Cuccinelli Stepping Down for Campaign

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On his monthly radio program, Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell was noncommittal on whether Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli should step down as attorney general -- the step McDonnell took four years ago to begin his own campaign for governor.

Asked whether Cuccinelli should step down as state government's top lawyer and chief law-enforcement officer to avoid conflicts of interest in his race for governor, McDonnell said it depends on the candidate.

Like every attorney general before him who had run for governor since 1993 -- Mary Sue Terry, Jim Gilmore, Mark L. Earley and Jerry W. Kilgore -- McDonnell stepped down early in the year before the gubernatorial election.

McDonnell said it's difficult but not impossible to do justice to both the office and a full-time campaign for governor.

“Look, the president of the United States just ran for re-election campaigning full time,” he said.